St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Tuesday, February 20th, 2018 – With exhibition rights sold in 56 international markets to date, Nelly & Simon : Mission Yeti, the third feature from leading Canadian animation house 10th Ave Productions, comes to Quebec screens on February 23rd.

This 100% Canadian animated feature film, directed and produced entirely in Quebec, was developed over five years and produced during a two-year period in the Quebec City region. More than 200 people worked on this original locally-generated intellectual property, with a screenplay by Pierre Greco and André Morency, and art direction by Philippe Arseneau Bussières, under the guidance of co-directors Pierre Greco and Nancy Florence Savard. Ms. Savard is also the producer for 10th Ave.

Synopsis

Quebec City, 1956. A twist of fate brings together Nelly Maloye, a youthful private detective, and Simon Picard, a scientific research assistant. Financed by an ambitious philanthropist, the intuitive, chaotic Maloye and the methodical, obsessive Picard set out on a quest to prove the existence of the Yeti. On their journey, Simon is relying on an explorer’s journal to guide them to the mythical creature’s hideout. Accompanied by a young Sherpa guide named Tensing and a talkative Mynah bird named Jasmin, they must confront numerous dangers in the heart of the Himalayas.

For this animated adventure comedy, 10th Ave has assembled a cast of popular actors to voice the following characters (in French version):

“Like series television or documentary production, the production of animated features provides a great boost to a region like Quebec City. Without diminishing conventional filmmaking in any way, let’s compare live-action features with their animated counterparts. For comparable stages of production, live action shooting versus principal animation, a typical regional shoot will provide about 35 days’ employment to the creative team, while the equivalent stage on an animated feature generates 350 days’ work for the team. And these are well-paid jobs,” points out producer Nancy Florence Savard. “Yet the most recent information from the Culture and Communications Observation Unit suggests that only 3% of Quebec’s total original production volume, live-action and animation combined, is produced in the area extending from Portneuf to Charlevoix. This poses a challenge that we’re striving with our collaborators to overcome.”

Selected for more than 7 festivals, Nelly & Simon : Mission Yeti will be presented in its original French version, subtitled in English, at TIFF Kids in Toronto in March.

Since 2013, 10th Ave Productions has produced the first 100% Canadian animated feature, The Legend of Sarila (directed by Nancy Florence Savard), for which exhibition rights have been sold in 40 countries; The Rooster of Saint-Victor (Pierre Greco), for which rights have been sold in over 100 countries; and Nelly & Simon : Mission Yeti (Pierre Greco and Nancy Florence Savard), which begins its career this week on Quebec screens.

10th Ave Productions is based in Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, Quebec. Founded by Nancy Florence Savard, the firm will celebrate its twentieth birthday next autumn. At present, it has seven new animated film projects in development, including Félix et le trésor de Morgäa (Felix and the Treasure of Morgäa), from a script by Marc Robitaille (Un été sans point ni coup sûr, Noémie le secret) and director Nicola Lemay (Noël Noël, Private Eyes); and Brad, le génie des Pomerleau (Brad the Pomerleaus’ Genie) written by author Johanne Mercier (The Rooster of Saint-Victor) and director Pierre Greco.